Julia Leconte
Understandably, he’s lost a little youthful edge: there’s no defiant Mr. Cab Driver, for example. But the songs hold up.
10y
He’s got an Irish poet’s turn of phrase, and all kinds of lust, guilt and anti-religious sentiment swirl around to spice up his darkly romantic, bluntly sexual debut album.
10y
The 35-minute project is bookended by 10-minute jams that flaunt Royksopp’s deft orchestration.
10y
We all love to revel in a real tearjerker, but these whiney odes are heartbreak songs minus the heart.
10y
His pipes sound simultaneously like a wounded animal and sneakers squeaking on a waxed floor, and yet his vocals are imbued with unquestionable humanity you won’t find anyone else as convincing serenading his sweetheart as he is pushing dope.
10y
Through varied production, Q strikes a balance between his hard persona and the party vibe found on Habits’ catchiest tracks.
10y
Like anyone trying to make a good first impression, the guys don’t come on too strong. Solid rhymes over chilled-out production pique interest without overwhelming with awe.
6y
While there isn't a chart-smashing Single Ladies or Baby Boy in the mix, the resulting 14 tracks (plus 17 videos) make her most complete album to date.
10y
On their third album, One Direction’s gone from pop-pop to pop-rock. But they didn’t get there on their own. There’s borrowing in pop music and there’s blatant, unashamed ripping off. Here, 1-D are too close to the latter from the get-go.
10y
Down to the very song titles – 17, Bitchin’ Summer, Hello Kitty – this is no more grown-up than her debut.
10y
The capital-P pop star backs up her I-just-don’t-give-a-fuck persona with killer singing and decent songwriting, but keeps us waiting for a banger that never comes.
8y
Thirty-two might be a little old for an emcee who’s only recently entered the mainstream. But that’s not the “old” Danny Brown explores on his third full-length.
3y
To say “nothing was the same” might be a stretch, but certainly the record mines enough new sonic territory to make it Kanye-like in its evolution. Hometown boy’s made good, again.
10y
Van den Bogaerde teams up with some of the industry’s biggest scribes to pen solid pop tunes that aspire to Elton John-style balladry … The few folksier, guitar-plucked numbers, however, are a touch formulaic and over-familiar.
6y
Kiss Land is proof for the unconvinced: the Weeknd is a star whether he wants to be or not.
10y
RTRWRA neatly combines those familiar chantable choruses, punchy guitars, pleasant harmonies and simple, clever lyricism – all in all, a great vehicle for that smooth, too cool croon of singer Alex Kapranos.
10y
Electronic music has been pulsing its way through rap, and with his sixth solo effort, Kanye swoops in like an alien Phoenix and mops the floor with everyone in the process.
10y
1